


Treat You Better

by multifandomestisinsane



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (Even If It Isn't Obvious), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Galaxy Garrison, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Keith loves Lance, Lance Loves Keith (Voltron), Light Angst, M/M, Minor Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), One-Sided Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Pining, Pining Lance (Voltron), Pre-Season/Series 01, Supportive Hunk (Voltron), Unrequited Love, Voltron Lions Sacrifice Themselves, sad keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:09:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25589632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/multifandomestisinsane/pseuds/multifandomestisinsane
Summary: Lance and his journey in discovering his feelings for Keith.Pre-Season 1 until the end of Season 8.
Relationships: Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Hunk & Lance (Voltron), Keith & Krolia (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 25





	Treat You Better

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, so this is my first fic please be gentle with me~~~~~

Lance first notices the raven-haired boy when he sees him with his hero; Shiro. He’s angry, who was this boy, this nobody; to hold Shiro’s attention. His ire only grew worse when he found out that he was in cargo pilot class and the other was in fighter pilot class with Shiro, he hated it when Shiro placed his arm around the other’s shoulder and the boy had the audacity to shrug the man’s arm off. How dare he? Did he not realize how many people would kill for that chance? Hell, he would’ve easily traded a kidney if it meant that Shiro would give him the same looks that he gave Keith. As the school year continued, his anger only grew seeing how much the two interacted, how Shiro always took the time to make sure Keith was eating lunch and not starving and bent over a book in the library, how Shiro personally took the time to walk Keith to his own classes before he left. And he heard rumors that they spent every weekend outside in the desert with Shiro teaching the ungrateful brat how to fly the hoverbike. He hated it.

Hunk, on the other hand, begged to differ. Every time Lance came to him and groaned and whined and raged about Keith and his stupid mullet and stupid attitude, Hunk would always give him this look and dismissively nod his head. It irritated Lance. Hunk would always say that maybe, just maybe it wasn’t Keith he was jealous of, but instead, he was jealous of Shiro and their closeness. Lance had to snort, incredulous. Why would he be jealous of Shiro for that? He hated Keith, his stupid mullet, his atrocious attitude. He hated him. Hell, he was his rival. Lance had already said that, had marched up to that stupid face, stared right at those purple eyes- and wow, how can a human have eyes like that?!- and loudly declared that Keith was his rival. And the other had just stared at him confused, Lance was angry, did the other think that he was so above everyone just because he had Shiro’s attention that he couldn’t fathom that someone would challenge him like that. When Shiro came near them and placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder, Lance had to turn around and leave before he said something he would regret, a pool of anger deep in his gut. ‘Not anger, jealousy,’ his mind whispered but he’d swiftly squished that thought out of his mind. ‘Damn Hunk, putting these thoughts in his head,’

When Shiro was announced to join the Kerberos mission, Lance was happy for him. Who wouldn’t be? Shiro deserved it. He was an amazing person, not just as a pilot, but a person in general. But by the side, he noticed Keith brooding. And a pinch of anger stabbed at his gut, how dare he? This was an honor. And he claimed to be Shiro’s friend? Why wasn’t he happy then? Shouldn’t he be congratulating Shiro for this achievement? His friend will be going down in history as one of the first men to reach the farthest planet in their solar system. At the same time though, when he noticed Shiro looking at Keith and smiling soothingly at him and the frown on Keith’s face dissolved, that familiar pinch of what he would never consider as jealousy hit him in the gut but he shrugged it off, what was he jealous of? ‘You’re jealous of how just a smile from Shiro makes Keith smile. Admit it, you’re jealous of Shiro,’ His treacherous mind whispered but he ignored it, why would he be jealous of Shiro? He was jealous of Keith and how easily he smiled when Shiro was there, he wanted to be the one in Shiro’s shoes, he wanted to have that gorgeous and precious smile aimed at him and- what the hell was he thinking about? Keith’s oh-so-precious smile could burn in hell for all he cared. 

“You know bud, Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.” Hunk cuts him off one night when he, as usual, raged about Keith and his stupid mullet and his stupid smile and his oddly beautiful eyes and what the fuck was Hunk talking about? “What the hell dude?” Lance chokes out, wide eyes staring at Hunk. “Just admit it dude, I know you like Keith, you just made up this stupid rivalry with him,” Hunk says to him calmly. What the fuck was Hunk talking about?! “Lance, you talk about Keith like he’s all you ever see. You pointed out how soft his lips are just now, dude.” Lance’s mind screeches to a stop, he said WHAT NOW?!?! He backtracks in his mind, to the past 20 minutes he’s been ranting at Hunk and finds that he did at one point say that. An angry-red blush lightens his skin and he shoves at Hunk’s shoulder. “I do not like Keith,” he mutters, eyes averted to the ground. Because of that, he doesn’t see the shake of Hunk’s head. He is too caught up in his head. I do NOT like Keith.

One day, after the Kerberos mission is announced a failure and the entirety of the Garrison is still mourning the loss of three great men, Lance stumbles on Keith in the bathroom. Immediately, Lance wanted to turn around and walk out but Keith’s face stopped him. Keith looked...defeated. In all the months that they had been in the Garrison, Keith had always worn a poker-face, untouchable and emotionless. Seeing him, crumpled down on the ground, face too pale a white, big bruises under his eyes and his shining purple eyes dull and broken, tears at Lance’s heart. So without thinking, he falls to his knees in front of Keith whose eyes snap to look at his face but he doesn’t seem to see him. His cracked lips form a single word “Shiro,” Keith whispers brokenly and Lance’s heart breaks a little. Keith’s face crumbles and he jumps at Lance, crying onto his collar, fingers digging into his clothes. Keith keeps whispering words like “You came back,”, “You’re alive,”, and “I knew you’d come back,” and it breaks Lance’s heart and he shuts his mouth and just pulls Keith onto his lap. He adjusts the two of them so that he can fully sink to the floor with Keith in his lap. He pushes one hand through Keith’s raven-black hair, marveling at the softness of it while the other moves to the middle of Keith’s back, rubbing gently and he realizes with horror that he can feel every vertebra on Keith’s back. Lance closes his eyes and lets Keith cry on him, his thin shoulders heaving up and down with the force of his sobs, breaths too raspy and stuttering as he struggles to catch his breath from how hard he cries. His pale and thin fingers grasping at Lance’s uniform and he lets him. He lets Keith break down on him, lets Keith release every tear he wants to release and for what Lance acknowledges as the first time, he feels a seed of anger grow in him for Shiro. This was Shiro’s fault. If the other hadn’t gone to Kerberos then maybe Keith wouldn’t have broken down like this. Then maybe, Keith would still be happy and smiling. They wouldn’t have this Keith who was wasting away. He would have the Keith that he wanted, the competitive one, the spit-fire one. He missed that Keith.

The next day, he gets moved into fighter pilot class, Lance doesn’t feel happy as he watches Hunk rejoice in front of him lifting him off the ground in joy. Lance feels guilty. He knows the day that he stepped into that classroom and Iverson, sporting a large bandage on his eye, pointed him to Keith’s old seat that Keith probably snapped and they threw him away like trash because of it. While in the class, he hears the rumors that Keith had punched Iverson hard enough for it to bruise after having been caught destroying the Kerberos rescue mission simulator last night. He remembers yesterday when Keith had broken down and a seed of anger for the Garrison grows as well. The Garrison had always been advocated as being a prestigious school that cared for its students’ wellbeing. Where was that care now? Why didn’t they talk to Keith? Did no one else notice that Keith was breaking? Was Lance the only one that noticed? Was he the only one that cared? Every time he was called to test the Kerberos rescue mission simulator, he crashed it. It is his only way to spite the Garrison, he couldn’t afford to do what Keith had done but like hell was he just going to stand there and let them tarnish Shiro’s memory as an excellent pilot (even if he still hated Shiro for accepting the damn mission in the first place). It was the only thing he could do for Keith now.

The day they found Shiro and Lance saw Keith again, he couldn’t help but feel hurt that Keith didn’t remember him. He had held back a minute and saw the way that Keith had oh so gently touched Shiro’s face, mesmerized by the man. But he swallowed down that hurt, perhaps Keith just didn’t remember that day, after all, he had hallucinated that Lance was Shiro. Lance just helps Keith bring Shiro to the hoverbike. 

When they get launched into space, Lance sees Keith practically bend over in half to follow everything Shiro says. He feels that familiar stab of jealousy and it’s just like they were back in the Garrison, back to ranting to Hunk and Pidge and the two of them teasing him about his crush on Keith, he still denies it but in the darkest of nights, the two’s words return to him and sometimes he wonders, what if they were right?

Lance was growing used to that ever-present pit of jealousy and anger inside of him every time he saw Keith and Shiro sharing this small little smile between the two of them. He was growing used to the fact that if Shiro said the word, Keith uncharacteristically, would fall back. That Keith, violent, passionate Keith would heel at the other’s command, but never to them, to Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Coran or even Allura. When Shiro disappeared after that disastrous battle and Keith shattered, Lance wanted to wrap Keith in his arms and just hold him and comfort him and wipe away every tear that would ever escape from his eyes but he knew that he couldn’t. Because after all this time, Keith still saw him as nothing more than an ally, a comrade perhaps but not a friend. So he contented himself with making sure that Keith was still eating (albeit not much), that he was still taking care of himself (despite how bad the other was at it) and that he didn’t kill himself going back to that wreck of a battlefield searching for Shiro. Lance was content just keeping an eye on Keith, he promised himself that he would be there when Keith fell apart, he was going to show Keith that this man that he was losing sleep for, killing himself for, wasn’t worth it, because there was someone waiting for him to see him, that Lance was there and he had always been there.

When the time came for them to try to pilot the Black Lion, Lance had oh so badly wanted to pilot it. Perhaps, if he piloted the Black Lion, Keith would finally see that he was there, that Lance was important, that he wasn’t just a joker. But the Black Lion didn’t listen to him, it was silent and cold. Lance felt disappointed, there goes his chance to prove himself. And then Keith entered the Lion and Lance saw that he was terrified, he had looked up at the Lion looming over him before he entered it. It took a few minutes, but the Lion suddenly came to life and Lance’s heart dropped.

After they found Shiro, Lance noticed that Keith was practically throwing himself into Blade mission after Blade mission, Lance didn’t know how to feel about it. One side of him wanted to grab Keith by the arm and remind him that he was the Black Paladin, that he was their leader now that the Black Lion wouldn’t follow Shiro but on the other hand, he remembered that look of terror and anxiety that Keith wore as he entered the Black Lion that fateful day and he’d hold his tongue. He had a feeling he knew exactly what Keith was planning on doing based on his actions and decisions. And he didn’t know what to think about that.

Keith was leaving. Keith was leaving. Keith was leaving. That was the only thing running through Lance’s mind as he stared at Keith in his Blade of Marmora outfit, standing out brightly on the Castle’s white and pristine walls. He chanced a glance at Shiro and saw that he was indifferent. Anger spiked through Lance’s being, how dare the other be fine with this? Keith was leaving, Keith their leader, Keith their friend, Keith their brother and they were just letting him leave? Lance wasn’t about to let him. He had just been about to open his mouth and protest when Keith looked at him and the words died in Lance’s mouth. Keith looked...tired, sick, ill, he looked as he did back on that fateful day in the Garrison and now Lance understood. Keith had never wanted to be leader, the others had not wanted him to be a leader in the first place as well, they had always looked to Shiro first before they did anything, anytime they followed Keith, there had always been uncertainty when they acted. He knew that. And he knew that Keith was saving himself from self-destructing yet again but Lance couldn’t bring it in himself to say goodbye to Keith. It hurt too much to say goodbye.

Lance watched as Keith came back, better looking and mature and he was awed but then Keith rejected him yet again. Lance watched Keith grow to become the best leader he can be and he followed him faithfully. Lance was struggling to get out of bed when he had woken up in the hospital and Keith had still been in a coma. Lance was there, always there even if Keith tried to push him away sometimes. Then that final battle happened and he had been so terrified that they would die and Allura had come oh so close, ready to sacrifice herself and Lance had wanted to grab her by the arm and pull her behind him because there was no way in hell that he was letting Allura die, he wasn’t letting his sister die, no way in hell. Then the lions had suddenly moved on their own accord, and everyone had been dumbstruck but not the paladins. They had been crying, each and everyone of them, the Lions had always been sentient beings and it had never been quite as true as that day. The Lions had formed Voltron on their own, had turned to the paladins and Lance felt twin caresses in his mind both full of regret, love, happiness, joy, sadness, family, acceptance, urgency, guilt and all kinds of emotions that Lance would never be able to decipher and two voices whispering to him, ‘Stay safe, my child.’ and ‘Don’t ever let him get away from you, cub. You both deserve to be happy.’ And then Voltron was gone, having sacrificed themselves to save the entire multiverse. And Lance felt numb.

It had been a few months since the war ended and the paladins were all still numb. Pidge had been reportedly seen in a Garrison lab, hunched-back and muttering. Hunk had stayed with Pidge, selflessly sacrificing his time to be with the younger and making sure that the other was doing as good as can be with these circumstances. Allura and Coran had left Earth with some of the Blades barring Kolian and Krolia who stayed on Earth, they had heard that the two had started a New Altea and Lance, well Lance didn't know exactly now what the quiznak he was doing. He knew his family was worried, he’d been given the ‘We’re Worried About You Bud Speech’ by almost every single one of his uncles/aunts/parents/older siblings/older cousins and that was saying something since Lance had a giant family. Then, he’d received the invitation, and he knew that shit was about to go down; BAD.

Lance went to the wedding, of course he did. He was also mature enough to realise and admit to himself that the only reason he even came to the media circus they called a wedding was because of Keith. Keith, who had sacrificed everything he was for that man smiling at the altar and yet not even sparing a glance at the dark-haired man. Keith, who Lance had seen at his worst and had screamed and cursed and cried for that ungrateful man who was signing his life away to Curtis and not to the person who had always, always been there for him. And yes, Lance was mature enough to admit that he was angry, that he felt hatred but oh, not for Keith (it hadn’t been for Keith for a long time now) but for that person he had once looked up to, to Shiro. And if he only had eyes for Keith, who valiantly kept watching the couple despite the heart-wrenching agony so obvious in his eyes well… Everyone else was too busy congratulating the newly-wedded couple to notice.

Lance only half-heartedly agreed to come to the reception and that was only because for once in his life, he was going to speak up. He had kept his mouth shut all his life, had held his tongue when Shiro had progressively gotten worse and had, in Lance’s opinion, drove Keith away. When Keith had been killing himself searching for a dead man in space, when Keith had broken down and he could’ve said something to anyone and maybe someone would’ve helped Keith and maybe Keith would’ve never left. Lance had many regrets but this one wouldn’t be another added to that. But first of course, he’d talk to Keith. Keith, who while they’ve been in space had blossomed into this beautiful, talented man, kind and helpful and who he’d fallen further in love with. So the minute he entered the reception area which was basically the repurposed mess hall of the Atlas, he was looking for Keith who he’d seen beside his mother and wolf. He had greeted the older woman and petted the wolf before turning to Keith. Keith, who in the months they haven’t seen each other, had changed.

Keith was beautiful, had always been beautiful but now facing him, Lance felt like he was face-to-face with a fallen angel which was probably far more appropriate now that he thought about it. The other was still broad-shouldered but lithe however when Lance looked at him, he felt as though Keith had gone past lithe and headed straight for thin. Even from a distance, Lance could spot the gauntness of the other’s cheeks, the tiredness lining his eyes and the slightly dimmed eyes of the other but despite all that, Keith’s otherworldly amethyst eyes still stared at Lance with the same light they always had, and a small smile graced the other’s usually down-turned lips. “Keith,” he had greeted, tipping his head slightly in the other’s direction and watched with a little hope as the other rolled eyes at him. The other stepped forward without a word and Lance immediately knew what was coming next, he opened his arms and let Keith embrace him. Lance had gotten taller, work at the farm ensured that he was also gaining more muscle and he was surprised that once again, ehwas taller than Keith but he relished in it, nonetheless. Tucking his chin on the smaller’s shoulder, he whispered “Hey there buddy, long time no see,” he felt more than heard Keith’s laughter, breath brushing against the crook of his neck where the man had tucked his head in. “You were the one who decided to drop off the face of the Earth,” the other said jokingly,poking at his side and he only tightened his arms around the smaller’s waist. “I missed you,” he admitted. “I missed you too,” Keith whispered back, keeping his head buried in the Cuban man’s neck. “We were all worried.”

A prick of guilt stabbed Lance’s heart, he knew that him suddenly disappearing from the face of the Earth would worry the others but he had needed it, had needed the time to recuperate and to think, to lose himself at the farm despite what everyone else was saying but maybe he should’ve taken a communicator with him. “I know, I’m sorry,” he replied, knowing that nothing more could’ve been done and he resolved to himself that this time, he’d let them know he was alive rather than just going radio-silent. They parted, and Lance felt a stab of nervousness but he shouldered on. “Keith, we need to talk.”

The other had only blinked at him but nodded, sharing a brief nod with his mother before following Lance outside of the reception hall where they swiftly avoided the media still camped out outside of the hall and headed straight for the viewing deck of the Atlas. They stopped there, in front of the windows staring at the dessert night. Lance stayed silent, gathering his thoughts and Keith simply let him. Breathing deeply, he grabbed Keith’s gloved hands and looked him in the eye, “Keith, I know I’m probably years too late in saying this but I love you so much, I’d been too stupid at the Garrison back then to admit it and too stubborn as a Paladin to say it. I know that you love Shiro, hell anyone with eyes knows it even if Shiro’s too damn oblivious to see it but I know. And, you deserve better Keith. You deserve to be with someone who appreciates you and everything you’ve done, who doesn’t just toss you aside when everything’s said and done. I’ve seen the way he’s ignored you all these time after we got back and how he distanced himself from you and I kept my mouth shut, hoping that one day, you’d realize it too.”

He bit his lips after what he said, seeing the various emotions flickering in the other’s eyes, sadness, shock, a bit of anger and resignation. He watched as Keith licked his lips, gathering his thoughts.”I came here thinking that maybe he’d realise what I felt for him. That maybe it’d be like in those fairy tales where the prince wakes up and realizes who he loves. And looking back on it, maybe it was stupid. I know that he’s happy without me in his life and that even if I still want him in my life, he’s gone from it, had cut himself out of it. And it hurts,” at this Keith looks at him with such a sad, sad smile on his face and he sees tears start to pool in those amethyst eyes he loves. “It hurts because everyone kept telling me that he was happy with Curtis and they said that I had to move on but I never knew how. And yeah, I understand that maybe I was stupid to hope that he’d notice me again and maybe, it’s my fault that he left and-” Keith cuts himself off, breath heaving as he tries to force back sobs and something stabs at Lance’s heart and he gathers Keith in his arms as he sobs. “It wasn’t your fault, mi amor. And he’s an idiot for letting you go just like that okay. It wasn’t your fault, Keith, it was never yours.” He says, one hand gently rubbing circles around the former Black Paladin’s back as he cries.

“You deserve better Keith, so much better.” He whispers softly and Keith pulls back and stares back at him with such heart-broken eyes. “Show me, please.” 

And Lance smiles at him gently.

He leans closer, staring at Keith letting him know what he was doing and that Keith could pull back if he wanted. 

Their lips meet in that dark viewing hall as cheers erupt from the mess hall as everyone celebrates the marriage of someone who has broken this pure heart that he holds in his arms and as Keith shakes, he holds him as he always has. “I love you my heart and if I spend each day of my life showing you how much you deserve it, I’d gladly do so and more.”

And when they pull back and Keith smiles at him oh so softly, “I- I love you too Lance.”

Lance smiles and this time, it’s Keith who leans forward and locks their lips together. And they stand there, liplocked outside that reception hall, blind to the world and if they don’t notice a certain Galra mother and space wolf looking at them, well...ignorance was a bliss after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, thanks for taking the time to read this *sends virtual cookies* 
> 
> Anyways, if you can- please comment what you think. <3


End file.
